Better Late Than Never
by lilynicole1313
Summary: When the love of Sam's life leaves him in the middle of the night, it takes him a while to recover. But when he goes to find her and make things right, she's kidnapped by a mysterious man, leading the Winchesters on a race against the clock. Along the way, Sam discovers things about her he never knew and comes to find himself, as well. Established Dean/Jo; Sam/OC. AU R&R please :)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: February 14, 2010**

_Sam,_

_ These past two years travelling with you and Dean have been amazing and fun, but I have to leave. I love you with everything I have, but our fight is the reason hunters and witches don't get involved with each other. So, I'm stopping this before either of us gets hurt. You're an amazing man and I know there's an equally amazing woman out there for you. Be safe, Sammy. _

_Love,_

_Zoey_

He woke up on Valentine's Day, mind reeling with ways to apologize to her, with the diamond ring in his bag. When he rolled over, the first thing he saw was the note on her side of the bed. Sam's heart stopped as he read it, his eyes finding the few damp circles where her tears landed on the paper. He bolted out of bed and ran to the door, yanking it open. Sure enough, her emerald green Corvette was gone. "Zoey!" He yelled, panicking. She couldn't be gone.

Dean emerged from his hotel room next door sleepily. "Dude, keep it dow-where's Z?"

Sam sank down in the doorway, pulling his knees to his chest, and didn't bother to attempt to block the tears. This was supposed to be a vacation. "What happened?" Dean asked quietly, sitting beside his brother.

"S-she's gone." The realization of that simple statement hit him as the words left his mouth. The one who helped him and Dean through their issues, helped heal his heart, cured his demon blood addiction, was gone. Because of him.

Zoey made it back to Salem in a record four hours. She made it to her best friend's sofa and then, the tears started. "Zoey, what's wrong?" Lukas asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"I broke up with Sam." She said, hoping she did the right thing. "We got into a bad fight last night."

"Shh." He brushed her hair out of her eyes. "It's okay."

She buried her face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. He closed his eyes, racking his brain to find something to say. After a few minutes, she looked up at him. "Thanks." She wiped her eyes.

"That's what I'm here for, Zoey." He kissed her forehead. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head. "I should be getting home. There's some whiskey that needs me to drink it."

"Don't drink too much, now." He called as she left.

When she finally arrived at her house, she drank until she passed out at the kitchen table, but the whiskey failed. Sam still occupied her thoughts.

Dean looked over at his brother, knocked out against the window of the Impala. He sighed, not knowing what to tell him. He'd always been the one breaking hearts, not getting his heart broken. Jo rested her hand on his shoulder. "Dean, it'll be okay."

"Will it?" He countered, worried about his brother.

"He's bounced back from worse than this."

Sam grunted, hitting his head on the window. He sat up straight. "Where are we?"

"A few miles out of Kansas. We'll be there soon." Dean grinned. "What say we go to the bar and have a few drinks, huh, Sammy?"

Sam half-heartedly shrugged. "Maybe."

"Sam, snap outta this funk, man! It's been five months." Dean groaned. "You need to get laid."

"Yeah, okay." Sam agreed, just to keep an argument from happening.

True to his word, he took a cute brunette back to their hotel room, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep with her. "I'm sorry but I-"

She kissed him, rolling her hips into hers. He let her push him down on the bed, thoughts of Zoey driven from his brain as she made quick work of their clothes. He woke up the next morning to her snoring lightly. He rolled out of bed, being careful to not wake her, and jumped in the shower, trying to let the water erase his guilt. Then, he remembered that it was her birthday. He dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist, re-entering his room to find the girl from last night gone.

Dean knocked on the door, telling Sam to get dressed and pack. They had a case. He obeyed, turning in the hotel key before throwing his bag in the trunk. "Where are we headed?"

"To Wamego. Dad's finally bringing us in on this one."

Sam sat back, frowning. He knew John would start in on what happened with Zoey and he didn't want to listen to it. "So what is he dealing with?"

Dean grinned, obviously excited. "Revenant. First time we've ever dealt with one of those bastards."

In a little over an hour, they pulled into the hotel John was staying. He pulled Dean into a hug. "Good to see you boys."

"Good to see you too, Dad." Dean grinned, elbowing Sam.

"Yep." Sam mumbled, his hands in his pocket. "So, revenant?"

"Don't change the subject, Sam." John hugged his younger son fiercely. "What exactly happened between you and Zoey?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: July 13, 2011**

"This is a bad idea, Sam!" Dean slammed his fist on the table, trying to get through to his brother. "Don't go up there."

"Dean, I have a bad feeling and I have to do this!" Sam looked down at his brother. "Either go or don't, I don't care."

"Call me if you need me. Unlike you, I'm taking our vacation seriously." Dean finally conceded, finishing off his beer.

"Be careful, Sam." Jo gave him a hug, sitting in Dean's lap.

"Will do, Jo. Keep him out of trouble." He left, sliding into the Dodge Charger he bought while Dean was in purgatory.

Zoey grabbed the broom from the supply closet in her store, A to Z Apothecary, and began sweeping. It was almost closing time, and she had no plans for her birthday. She heard the door open, ringing the little bell above it. She was about to raise up on her tip-toes to see who it was, but the cold voice told her before she saw him. "Happy birthday, Zoey."

"Go away Matthew." She warned, her fingers tingling from the magic.

"I'll leave if you come with me."

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy?" She scoffed. "Go to hell, Matthew."

His ice cold gaze scared her a bit. "Come on, love. Let's not be hostile, okay?"

"Let's." She tossed a fireball at him, which he swatted down.

He pushed his hand out in front of him and she flew back into the shelf, knocking it over. She blinked a couple of times, flicking her wrist and pushing him away from her. She staggered to her feet, throwing another fireball at him. He just laughed. "You don't have the upper hand now, Zoey." He snapped his fingers and she crumpled to the ground. "Stupid witch." He muttered, carrying her out to his car.

Sam pushed the door of A to Z Apothecary open. "Hello?" He called, peering around.

As he stepped in, his mouth fell open in shock. The store was in disarray, shelves knocked down and fire damage to the floor. He didn't notice her phone until it started going off. "Who is this?" He asked, answering it.

"Sam? Why do you have Zoey's phone?" Jo asked, sounding as if she was in a tunnel.

"Umm, I think she's been kidnapped. Her store's an absolute mess and I smell sulfur. I might need backup." He stopped talking as he heard the bell above the door jingle and a young man walked in.

"I'll tell Dean when he gets out of the shower. We'll be up there soon, Sam." She hung up.

"Who are you?" He pocketed Zoey's phone, looking at the man suspiciously.

"Who are you?" He asked, turning the tables on him.

He could sense the air change and quickly deduced he was another wizard. "I'm Sam Winchester, and I promise, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Winchester? You're a hunter?" He scoffed. "And I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I dated Zoey Bloodworth for a while."

"Zoey dated you?" He raised an eyebrow. "I'm Isaac, her brother. So what happened?"

"I have no idea. Her shop was like this when I came in." Sam stopped. "Brother?"

"It's a long story." He stepped carefully around Sam. "Damn." He muttered and walked back out.

Sam followed him and saw him approach another young man identical to Isaac. "Not at home, not here. Did you call our grandparents?"

The other man nodded. "They haven't seen her, either since Dad's funeral." He cocked his head. "Who's that?"

"Sam Winchester, a hunter and, apparently, Zoey's ex." Isaac barely kept the disgust out of his voice.

"I'm Connor, Zoey's other brother. It's nice to finally meet you, Sam." He held out his hand.

Sam took it, a bit confused. "I wish I could say the same, but um, she never mentioned any siblings."

"She has her reasons." Isaac snapped. "Come on, Con." He reached out to his brother.

"Isaac, he could help us, right? He's a hunter."

"Fine. Come on, Winchester."

Sam followed them to Bloodworth Manor, on the edge of town. He realized Connor was blind when he gripped Isaac's hand to walk up the steps. "Hello, boys." Crowley sang, sitting on the couch. "Oh, you caught a moose?"

"I'm trying to find Zoey." Sam snarled, glaring at the King of Hell.

He jumped to his feet and pushed Sam a few feet back. "How dare you!" He hissed. "You think you can just rescue the damsel in distress, apologize, and everything will be perfect?"

"Is it ever that easy, Crowley?" Sam nearly yelled back. "I kept having this bad feeling and I came up here. So what the hell is going on?"

She woke up, tied to a chair in the middle of a witch's trap. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost ten hours exactly, which means I have thirty-eight to play with you before you die." He grinned wickedly.

She tried to wiggle out of the rope binding her arms but failed. When his eyes turned black for a split second, she realized how his power had grown so much. "Matt, what did you do?" She asked cautiously.

"They're wrong, you know, about demons restricting your power." He said vaguely, sitting down in front of her, just outside the circle. "If you allow them to possess you, your power increases magnificently."

"This is the stupidest thing you've ever done! Why?"

"You." He leaned closer. "Help me annihilate the Winchesters and come back to me."

"I can't do that." She said quietly.

"Sam hates you, remember?"

"It doesn't matter." She leveled her gaze. "Dean is still like family to me and you will not hurt them."


End file.
